A Brazilian Halloween

This past Friday the Bailey and Hunter had their class Halloween parties at school.  Since they got to dress up, Brandon and I took the opportunity to surprise Bailey with a Ballerina set and the news that she'll start her much desired lessons in a week! :)  Needless to say, I think it worked.. she was SOOO excited!  And dare I say, I haven't seen a cuter girl in a leotard!!!

For Hunter's costume we took the cheap and creative route.. he was the VERY appropriate "Chick Magnet"!  He has smitten nearly every female teacher at the school - it is SO sweet! lol  I blogged about it too on our Brazil blog here: http://minutesformama.blogspot.com/2011/10/lover-boy.html  truly priceless! :)

I took some pictures in their classes.. First off - Bailey's class:  Here's Bailey with one of her "best" friends Vivian. :)

Even though Halloween is not celebrated here in Brazil, the Brazilian moms sure know how to prep for it!  They brought in all sorts of goodies into the classroom - it was ADORABLE!

Bailey's teacher's were perfectly dressed too - I LOVE these women! :)

A nice class-action shot.

And the whole gang!  They really do have SUCH a fun class! :)

Hunter's treat table didn't dissapoint either!  I had to restrain myself.. SOOO yummy! :)

The little lover boy himself..

Hunter's teachers were Smurf's!  SO stinkin' cute! :)  We have been incredibly blessed in the teacher department - I truly couldn't be happier!

Enjoy his pre-lunch goodies :)

I was able to help out with a craft in Bailey's class prior to the costume parade where all the kids marched around the school in their Halloween best!  It was a fantastic day that just kept getting better.. when I arrived home, our air shipment arrived with some of our stuff from the States!  It was like Christmas!!! :)  *That event is on http://minutesformama.blogspot.com/ as well! :)

Hop to it!

Bailey came home from school about a week ago in tears telling me that in P.E. she was the only one who didn't know how to jump rope.  "All my friends were so good mom.  I was so embarrassed!" :(  Needless to say, we called some good friends and borrowed one so she could practice at home so she could be ready for next time.  The girl has been trying and trying again non-stop ever since!  Apparently Peyton has been paying close attention and showed us her age appropriate adapted version today... sadly we only got the tail end of it before she was too tired to care anymore.  These girls are so fun together! :)

A new perspective

A picture is worth a thousand words.. or so I hear!  I am just getting into photography.  I have always loved it, but never had (or rather MADE) the time to learn it..  okay, and I always had a piece of junk camera too which doesn't help much!  Brandon went back to the States for business last week and brought home a bunch of goodies including my new Nikon D7000 which is technically for Christmas, but I married a softy! :)  So, don't judge, but these are the first shots right out of the box!  The thing was on automatic which is an insult I know, but I'll learn! :)

This is a shot of our view.  Not too shabby given it was taken out of my dirty window!

A stalker shot. I zoomed in on the main pool area.. VERY enlightening how easy it was to get so close!  I guess even when you're alone, you're not!  eeek!

We have a black swan in one of the ponds on our ground who has been sitting on a nest full of eggs for a couple of weeks now.  I can't wait to see little "ugly ducklings"! :)

A view of some of the buildings in our complex.  We are in the middle building you see with the tree blocking the right corner of it.

 Hunter with his sweet impish grin! :)

 Landon, Peyton and I took a nature walk.. they were watching the swans here.

 Crazy Peyton.  SOO much personality for such a little thing! lol

We went to the main pool (pictured up top) with a friend of mine's son.. Peyton and Landon were more content to eat than swim!

Until that is, Landon got distracted by this poor unsuspecting creature!

Peyton wasn't distracted in the slightest!  She just took the opportunity to inhale as much as humanly possible while her brother was away!

Don't bother me, I'm eating!

 I got some fun action shots of the kids and their endless amounts of energy jumping in the pool. :)

I don't know why ,but I LOVE this!  It looks fake to me with every splash of water being so crazy defined!

This isn't a great shot, just sentimental and fun.  This is for Gma De Groot.. another little floater :)  She layed in the water for about 5 minutes like this!

 Awww the many faces of Bailey.  I sure do love these crazy kids! :)

More pictures to come as I figure out how to use this amazing beast! 

Brazilian Dads Unite!

While in transition, Brandon found himself in Brazil, and us in Utah during Father's Day this year.  It was SO hard for me to celebrate without him!  Brazil heard of my tears and told me not to worry.. TODAY IS FATHER'S DAY!!! :) 

Honestly, I am SO stoked about this!  We got to give the man of the house breakfast in bed, the kids made crafts at school for him, and I got to give him a few things too.  Father's day is MUCH better in person!  THANK YOU BRAZIL!!! :)

*Apparantly you're supposed to have your flash on in our room.. sorry about the poor quality shots. :(  This is a die cast Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe (for those of you that speak car), that I got him for his office.  Crazy car loving man that he is! ;) 

What a fun day it's been so far spoiling this beloved man of ours!  I have yet to meet such an awesome husband and father.  I LOVE YOU BRANDON!!! ;)

PS.  Check out our Brazilian Blog for our latest news here!  http://www.minutesformama.blogspot.com/

Birthday Boy

My little man is not so little anymore! Hunter turned FOUR this past Monday and I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't skipped a few beats.. The day started with breakfast in bed (OF COURSE!), and sweet Hunter was more than happy to share with everyone (no surprise there!). :)

 We had to give him SOMETHING to start the day off right.. he was ecstatic to see more cars to play with!

When he mentioned a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, I was all over it as chocolate is in short supply here! So we happily broke into our "emergency supply" that we brought over from the states. :)

Then it was time for the unwrapping of the gifts.. accept since we don't have any wrapping paper yet we were forced to get creative and made due with blankets. :) He didn't seem to mind.. lets be honest, it's what's in them that his sights were set on! He was spoiled with books, popsicle molds, "orange" clothes (it's the color of the year you know!), and giant soft play dinosaurs. All this made for one HAPPY birthday boy!!!

Of course he got the family hook up too while we were visiting in Utah last month. He asked for a specific party for the first time so of course we HAD to do it! The theme was... ORANGE. Orange cake, orange balloons, orange, food, even "orange water". Of course we also added the world's largest orange silly string fight (36 cans of silly string!), and an orange water balloon fight too! It was great to see everyone, and Hunter got spoiled royally! :)

Here's Hunter with his Aunt Tawna:

Bailey and Grandma Roberts at the orange buffet table :) It was hard coming up with an orange menu.. we had macaroni & cheese, chicken nuggets, carrots and dip, cheese balls, cantaloupe & tang.

Grandma Roberts made the fantastic orange dinosaur cake! THANKS GRANDMA!!! :)

There was plenty of love to go around :)

All in all, I think it's safe to say he had a GREAT birthday! I am so thankful for this little man in my life. Always ready to give a compliment, a kiss, and a flower, he will someday make one special lady VERY happy.. right now I'm just happy that lady is me! :) LOVE YOU BUD!!!